The much-hyped SmartCity Kochi (SCK) project will slip past the July deadline. The Dubai-based promoters of the company and State government representatives, no less than chief minister Oommen Chandy himself, had repeated that the first phase would be ready next month.
The Hindu has reliably learnt that the first IT building of 6.50 lakh sq.ft will not be commissioned next month as the building is only 80-85 per cent complete. SmartCity in its chequered history since an MoU was signed with the then State government a decade back has emerged masters in breaking deadlines.
The first IT building was initially supposed to be commissioned in March this year as Mr. Chandy had said as much after a meeting of board of directors of SCK last December. But later the deadline was pushed to June and then to July.
Shortly after launching the pre-construction works of the first phase in July 2013, the then CEO of Tecom Investments and vice-chairman of SCK Abdullatif AlMulla had announced that the entire 88 lakh sq.ft, generating 90,000 jobs would be ready a shade under six years. Two years down the line, not even the initial 6.50 lakh sq.ft is ready. After inaugurating the SmartCity pavilion in June 2012, Mr. Chandy had announced that the project would be completed within 18-22 months going by which the first building should have been celebrating its first anniversary this month.
The construction of the pavilion itself, the first ever building of SCK since its foundation was laid in November 2007, made a mockery of deadlines. It was supposed to be completed in 14 weeks when its construction was launched in October 2011. But instead, it took the promoters eight months to finish it during which it missed multiple deadlines in January and May 2012.
Environment clearance was a case of another missed deadline. After the State Expert Appraisal Committee rejected its initial application for clearance, it took the company almost seven months to file and get the nod.
